Love Among the Druids: Bellini's 'Norma' : NPR May 16, 200812:00 AM ET Composer Vincenzo Bellini in 1830, one year before the premiere of Norma. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Hulton Archive/Getty Images ACT ONE: The action takes place in ancient Gaul, under Roman occupation, where the Druid priestess Norma has fallen in love with a Roman official named Pollione and has secretly borne him two children. Norma is also the daughter of the Druids' leader, Oroveso. As the action begins, Oroveso instructs his followers to go into the sacred forest and wait for Norma, who will signal the start of a planned revolt against the Romans. When the Druids leave, we find Pollione talking with the centurion Flavio. Pollione admits that he's no longer in love with Norma. His new romantic interest is the young acolyte Adalgisa, one of Norma's temple virgins. In the forest, a brass gong sounds. Pollione and Flavio leave, and a chorus announces the arrival of Norma.

As she cuts the sacred mistletoe, Norma sings the classic bel canto aria "Casta Diva," a prayer to the goddess for victory over the Romans. The Druids follow Norma off, leaving Adalgisa alone to struggle with her emotions. She's torn between her love for Pollione, and her loyalty to Norma and her sworn duties. Pollione joins Adalgisa and begs her to elope with him to Rome. The second scene takes place at Norma's home. She tells her friend Clotilde to hide her two little boys — the sons Norma had with Pollione. She's afraid of her ambivalent feelings toward them: "I love, and at the same time, hate, my children," she says. Adalgisa pays a visit to Norma, asking to be released from her vows. She admits she's found love, though she doesn't say with whom. Norma is touched, remembering her own early days with Pollione. She agrees to release Adalgisa from her vows. But when Pollione arrives, the truth comes out. Norma realizes that he has betrayed her with Adalgisa, and Adalgisa learns that Pollione had pledged himself to Norma.

The act closes in a fiery confrontation. Norma curses Pollione, saying "My burning fury will engulf you like the wind and the waves." She orders Adalgisa to go with him. Adalgisa tells Pollione she'd rather die than desert her people. ACT TWO: So far, Norma has come across as an unpredictable and even dangerous woman. Now, we find her sounding vulnerable and filled with doubt — and with a knife in her hand. She's still angry with Pollione and contemplates killing their two young sons. She raises her dagger over the sleeping children, but at the last moment backs down. Norma calls for Adalgisa, and tells her to take the children and go live with Pollione in Rome. In a spectacular duet, Adalgisa says she won't do it. Instead, she'll tell Pollione of Norma's suffering, hoping that will move him to come back to Norma. The scene changes to the sacred forest. Oroveso tells his Druid warriors to keep their anger for the Romans in check. They must wait for just the right moment to attack.

They leave, and Norma is alone with Clotilde, who tells Norma that Adalgisa has failed to change Pollione's mind. He still loves Adalgisa, and plans to carry her off to Rome. Norma is furious. "The traitor will go too far," she says, "but I will strike first, and Roman blood will flow like water." She runs to the altar and strikes the ceremonial brass shield, summoning the troops to battle. In the commotion, an intruder is discovered within the Druid temple. It's Pollione. The punishment for any outsider entering the temple is instant death, and Norma is poised to kill him with the sacred dagger. But she hesitates, admitting to herself that she can't go through with it. Taking Pollione aside, Norma offers him freedom if he will leave Adalgisa. But Pollione refuses, saying he'd sooner die. Norma says she'd be delighted to arrange for that and for the death of their two young sons, plus the death of his beloved Adalgisa. Pollione begs Norma to spare Adalgisa's life. Suddenly, Norma calls for her people, announcing that Pollione won't be killed after all.

Instead, there's a new victim, one who has betrayed her country. "I am the guilty one," she says and then calls for the sacrificial pyre to be prepared. The crowd tries to bring Norma to her senses, but she won't budge. She's determined to go down in flames. In her final words to her father, Norma admits that she is the mother of Pollione's children and asks the shocked Oroveso to protect them. Meanwhile, Norma's bravery revives Pollione's love for her. He steps to her side, and the opera closes as the two walk into the flames together. Norma - San Diego Opera Norma In the Classroom Bellini and Norma Bellini was commissioned to write a new opera seria for La Scala for the autumn of 1831. The impresario had hired a new tenor, Donzelli, and the soprano was to be an old friend, Giuditta Pasta.

(In those days, the singers were usually hired before the composer, and operas were written with the strengths of specific singers in mind.) Since Donzelli was to be new for Bellini, the tenor wrote to the composer to tell him exactly his style of singing, his range, the character of his voice, etc.. Thus Bellini would know how to write for him. Pasta was a close friend and advisor to Bellini and often discussed projects with him and Romani. Although she was already famous, the new opera would mark her début at La Scala. A new play, Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet, opened in Paris on April 16, 1831 at the Theátre de l'Odeón. Within a few weeks Romani and Bellini agreed it was just what they needed for the La Scala commission. Bellini wrote to Pasta: "Romani believes it will be very effective, and absolutely ideal for your encyclopedic character, because that is the kind of character Norma has". He asked her for suggestions. Then cholera broke out in Austria, and there was fear of it reaching Italy and closing the theatres.

Bellini continued to work without much enthusiasm, but Norma was finally finished in early December. There were only minor problems with the Austrian censors, who only demanded the removal of the words 'Caesar' and 'enemy eagles' which were associated with the Habsburgs. Rehearsals for the new tragedia lyrica started on December 5 and the Norma opened on December 16. Bellini had written a letter to Mercadante: "On Monday I shall start rehearsing my opera Norma....I have made my will in case they murder me". It proved to be prophetic. At first Pasta refused to sing Casta diva because it did not fit her voice. Bellini persuaded her to practice it, and she finally confessed she had been wrong. The original Oroveso, Negrini, had a heart problem, and a cabaletta had to be cut from an Act I aria so as to not overtax him. The La Scala impresario wanted Norma to sing a cabaletta from top of the funeral pyre which would be followed by an ensemble finale. He got neither. Romani defied the Italian opera conventions of the time and he proved to be correct.

All involved considered Norma to be a fine piece and were shocked by the chilly reaction of the opening night audience. There were even whistles, the equivalent of boos in Italy. Nobody took a curtain call, and Bellini pronounced it a fiasco. However, later audiences were much more receptive. It seems that supporters of Pacini's mistress, the Countess Giuilia Samoyloff were in the audience the first night and they did the whistling. Pacini's new opera Il corsaro, was to go on shortly and they did not want competition There were also supporters of a "powerful personage" who disliked Pasta. That person owned the journal which, of course, gave a very bad review. Norma was given thirty-four times during its first season at La Scala and has become one of the operas in the standard répertoire today. Pacini's opera is now forgotten. As a footnote, there were also two ballets given on the same evening, one during the intermission. Audiences did not mind long evenings. Norma soon appeared all over Italy -- in Rome as La foresta d'Irminsul and within a few years all over Europe.

In 1833 it reached Vienna and London where it was compressed into one act because it was part of a benefit performance which also included Act III of Rossini's Otello, Paganini playing his variations, the ballet Les Sylphides and several pas de deux! 1834 saw it in Madrid, Marseilles and Budapest and the next year in Prague, Paris and Barcelona. It reached The New World in 1836 with performances in Mexico City and Havana. Giulia Grisi who had sung Adalgisia at the première took over the role of Norma and made it her own. In 1845 the opera was produced at a children's theatre in Spain; an eleven-year-old sang Norma and all the roles were taken by children! During an 1859 La Scala performance, there was an outcry against the occupying Austrian army. During the Guerra! Guerra!, the audience joined in. Somehow the reference to the Roman eagle had been reinserted and became the hated Austrian eagle to the Milanese. Wagner conducted Norma in Riga and later described it as "richest in the profoundly realistic way in which true melody is united with intimate passion".

Other contemporaries, including Bizet, Meyerbeer, Massenet, Brahms and Verdi heaped praise on it. Bellini himself considered it his masterpiece. When he was asked if he were shipwrecked, what he would try to save, he said, "I would leave all the rest and try to save Norma". Druids Mention Druids and the average person envisions white-robed, beared elders winding in procession through Stonehenge at the time of the summer solstice, while operaphiles see Norma cutting the sacred mistletoe with her golden sickle and later ascending the funeral pyre. But just who were they really? Because they did not write their own story, we must rely on biased Roman writers, but there are certain things we can say about them. Strabo tells us, "Among all the tribes, generally speaking, there are three classes of men held in special honour: the Bard, the Vates and the Druids.

The bards are singers and poets; the Vates interpreters of sacrifice and natural philosophers; while the Druids, in addition to the science of nature, study also moral philosophy." Others call the Druids the learned men and natural philosophers, they are not referred to as priests although they did oversee sacred rites. Other classes were the plebes, who were little more than serfs, and the equites or knights. Most writers report that the name comes from the IndoEuropean word dru, meaning oak, but there is no authentic pre-Christian inscription bearing the word DRUID We can say they were the learned men of the Celts. They apparently could read and write in Latin and Greek but wanted their traditions kept secret. Training to be a Druid took as long as twenty years. None of the law or lore was written down and much of the training consisted of the memorization of long sections of verse. In spite of this lengthy preparation, there was not shortage of recruits. They could come from any class and were exempt from military service and from taxation.. Druids knew enough astronomy to develop calendars; they were the repositories of all Celtic knowledge both public and arcane; they officiated at all events which involved ritual; and they were the judges in disputes.

Once a year they came from all Gaul to a sacred site near Chartres in France, where they met under the leadership of a head Druid. (Caesar is the only one who mentions the head Druid.) The decisions of the Druids were final and those who did not abide by their judgements or who failed to observe proper ritual in ceremonies were banned from attending sacrifices. This was a penalty even worse than death, so the Druids wielded enormous power. Once the main aristocratic society of the Celts disintegrated under Rome, the Druids lost their power. For a while they were tolerated as long as Roman citizens were not involved with them. Most Celtic rituals continued after the conquest and officiating at sacrifices was just one of the functions of the Druids. Diviciacus, chief of one of the tribes whom Cicero calls a Druid, was very helpful to Caesar in persuading the Gauls to cooperate with the Romans. In the opera, Norma also strives for peace between conquerors and conquered. Caesar also tells of him but does not call him a Druid. Caesar wanted to picture the Druids as organizers of resistance and therefore dangerous. Finally, Claudius (d.

AD 54) tried to eliminate them, but they made a brief comeback. The final contact with the Romans occurred in AD 60. Tacitus describes it thus: He [Suetonius Paulinus] therefore prepared to attack the island of Mona [now Anglesey] which had a powerful population and was a refuge for fugitives....On the shore stood the opposing army with its dense array of armed warriors, while between the ranks dashed women, in black attire like Furies, with hair disheveled, waving brands. All around, the Druids, lifting up their hands to heaven, and pouring forth dreadful imprecations, scared our soldiers by the unfamiliar sight, so that, as if their limbs were paralyzed, they stood motionless, a good target for the enemy. Then, urged on by their general's appearance and mutual encouragement not to quail before a troop of frenzied women, they bore the standards onwards, smote down all resistance and wrapped the foe in the flames of his own brands. A force was next set over the conquered, and their groves, devoted to inhuman superstitions, were destroyed.

They deemed it indeed a duty to cover their altars with the blood of captives and to consult their deities through human entrails. The last bit is clearly hearsay, based on the biased reports of earlier writers. There are only sparse references to female Druids such as Norma, but some have suggested that the 'frenzied women' mentioned above may have been druidesses. There were sporadic references to Druids after this but nothing extensive until the early Irish writers some six hundred years later. 1781 a London carpenter founded the Ancient Order of Druids. One of members was Winston Churchill who was initiated in 1908 while a student at Oxford. There are chapters all over the world, but they bear little or no relationship to the Druids of Norma Why did the Druids share the dubious distinction with the Christians of being the only people subjected to extermination? It has been speculated that these two groups alone had the power to coordinate organized opposition to Rome. The Celts were divided into small, wandering tribes engaged in internecine warfare. The Druids, with their annual meetings, schools and control of rituals, were the only unifying force.

Certainly they had the capability of leading opposition and this is reflected in Norma as the warriors wait for a signal from the gods through the priestess to start their rebellion. Productions of Norma have used Stonehenge as a set. Is there a connection between the Druids and this megalithic monument? In the seventeenth cwentury it was thought to be much younger than it actually is. The infant science of archaeology assigned the same era to it as the Celtic settlements in Britain, and a whole mythology grew up connecting the two. Actually Stonehenge was started almost two thousand years before the first Celts arrived in Britain so, while the Druids may have used it as a temple, they could not have built it  or could they? Julius Caesar asserted that the Druids'"doctrine was discovered in Britain and thence imported into Gaul, and today most people who wish to study the subject thoroughly go there to learn it". Is it possible that there were Druids in Britain long before the Celts arrived? Some modern scholars are beginning to think so. Some say the Druids pre-dated the Celts in France, and there is no trace of Druidism among Celts other than those in France and Britain.

Certainly in Neolithic times the tribal groups were even smaller than those of the Celts. Powerful leaders and a powerful doctrine would have been necessary to collect and coordinate the labor for such monumental construction. Were these leaders the Druids? Libretto & Source [The librettist for Bellini's Norma was the poet Felice Romani. He based his libretto on Alexandre Soumet's play Norma. The following article traces some of the deeper sources for this work. - NMR] While the immediate source for Bellini's opera Norma, was Alexandre Soumet's 1831 Norma, a tragedy in five acts and in verse, its roots go back to the Greek myth of Medea. Medea was a priestess of the moon-goddess in Colchis in Asia Minor. She fell in love with Jason, helped him win the Golden Fleece, and bore him two sons before he left her for Glauce (or Creusa), the daughter of King Creon. Unlike Norma, Medea did cut the throats of her children, and she fled from Corinth to Athens. There she married Aegeus but got into trouble when she tried to poison Theseus.

Elements of her story were used in operas by several different French composers. Romani wrote the libretto for Mayr's 1813 Medea in Corinto. That opera was very popular and provided Giuditta Pastawith one of her greatest roles. The German Velléda was mentioned by Tacitus as a hermit prophetess who supported rebellion against the Romans. Chateaubriand placed her in Gaul in his 1809 opera Les martyrs about a Gallic priestess. A chorus of bards sings of cutting the mistletoe from a Druid oak with a golden sickle; there is a sacred dead tree called Irminsul in the forest, Velléda falls in love with and seduces a Roman soldier, Eudore, who is a Christian. She then cries rape and calls for the Gauls to revolt against the Romans. During the battle she repents, confesses her guilt and cuts her own throat with her golden sickle. In 1821 Romani wrote La Sacerdotess d'Irminsul. for the composer Pacini. It takes place in Saxony in the year 772.

(It was there that Charlemagne destroyed the most famous of the historical Irminsul pillars.) Much of it foreshadowed Norma; a pagan priestess falls for a general in Charlemagne's army. However, it ends happily with Norma's conversion to Christianity and marriage to her general. All of the above elements were brought together in Soumet's Norma. Romani, as ever ready to seize upon the latest success from Paris, adapted it to produce the Norma we know today. Soumet's Clothilde is a Christian and tells Norma's children about her religion. Orovèso is simply a Gaul, not Norma's father. While the set features the oak of Irminsul (now moved from Germany to Gaul) and a Druid altar, there is no cutting of the mistletoe or any other Druid ceremony. Norma's children have speaking parts and the dream given to Pollione in Norma is that of one of these children. Norma was a prisoner in Rome for three years and considers it her second home. She has made it possible for Pollion to function by keeping the Gauls peaceful and continually reminds him of that fact.

He has promised to take her and the children back to Rome with him, but while he acknowledges his debt to her, he becomes repulsed by her fanatical attentions. He considers abandoning her for a young priestess, Adalgise. When he refuses to take Norma to Rome, she swears vengeance, threatening to kill herself and her children, but can not go through with it. Romani kept most of the elements of Soumet's story but removed the references to Christianity and Norma's mad scene. Bellini's Norma is usually set in 50 BC, soon after Caesar's conquest of Gaul, the earlier versions of the story would have had to be set about AD 50, since a least one of the characters is a Christian. Alexandre Soumet (1786-1845) was a poet and author of plays. He was elected to the Academie Francaise in 1824. A poem, Jeanne d'Arc, was published at the expense of the state. He was librarian at the palace of Saint-Cloud and of Rambouillet under the Restoration, then of the Compiègne under Louis-Philippe.

He was a strong supporter of Victor Hugo and the Romantic Movement. The Music of Norma Vincenzo Bellini was the least prolific of the bel canto composers, having produced only ten operas compared to Rossini's thirty-nine and Donizetti's sixty-six. But he was generally considered the most sensitive of the three composers, particularly with regard to his approach to the poetry presented to him by his librettists. La sonnambula" and Norma are considered his most important works, but his operas I Puritani and Il pirata are major works of the bel canto period as well.

The elements of the bel canto style include: 1) the emphasis of the voice or the vocal line over the orchestra; 2) the sparing but elegant use of the orchestra as accompaniment to the voice; 3) sensitivity to text; 4) 'pictorial' writing for the voice in order to comment upon or 'paint' the text; 5) long vocal phrases, and 6) the use of the traditional Italian operatic structures  the scena, the double aria, (cavatina and cabaletta), concertato finales and two-movement duets (all of which are elements of opera that had been established once and for all by Rossini in his serious operas). All of these elements can be found in the opera Norma. If one listens to Norma's Act I aria Casta diva (Chaste goddess), many of these style elements will be clearly heard. The orchestral accompaniment is as simple as possible with the violins outlining chords and the lower strings providing pizzicato notes on strong beats. If you think about it, this is a kind of harp-like accompaniment allowing the voice to 'float' freely and easily above.

Every word can be clearly heard because of the composer's restraint in using the orchestra; therefore Bellini shows great sensitivity to the text which is essentially a hymn to the moon goddess. In terms of that ritual, hymn-like style, the tempo is slow, the orchestration is simple and the 'atmosphere' created is one of holiness, of a person reciting sacred words on behalf of the people. Compare this work to the "Laudate Dominum" from Mozart's Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, a work for soprano, chorus and orchestra from one of the master's liturgical or church works. The sonic environment that Mozart creates is quite similar to Bellini's aria for Norma.) The composer also shows sensitivity to the text by 'painting' it. Certain words get special treatment. The first instance of this sensitivity occurs with the first two words of the aria, Casta diva (Chaste goddess). Each word is engulfed by melodic turns of phrase or ornaments underlining Norma's prayer to the goddess.

The fact that these two words encompass one vocal phrase also tells us of the importance of the deity being addressed: Casta breath  diva  breath would diminish the character of the phrase "chaste goddess". Caaaaaaa-sta diiiiiiii-va  breath  gives the words heft and importance. Notice, too, how the pitch of the voice rises as we come to the climactic phrase at the end of the first verse of the text: senza nube e senza vel, (unclouded and unveiled). Everything musically and textually points to this part of the aria; it is where most of the beauty lies in the piece. It is almost as it the voice were imitating the movement of sacred incense rising up from the oak grove, making its way to the home of the goddess in the sky. That may sound a bit much, but we arein the Romantic period, are we not? This kind of controlled excess is what many of the more serious moments in bel canto opera are all about.

Casta diva is also an excellent example of the long, elegant vocal phrases that one will find in many of the bel canto operas, especially those of Donizetti and Bellini. As these operas were generally written with specific singers in mind, Giuditta Pasta, the first Norma, must have had extraordinary breath control and the technical ability to 'spin' out a melody in a way that few of her contemporaries could match. The same must be said, too, of Giulia Grisi, the first Adalgisa. It was the abilities of singers such as these and not only the imagination of the composer that helped to stretch the limits of the operatic repertoire. In terms of traditional Italian operatic structures, Norma abounds in examples. The entire first scene is a traditional scena with a dialogue between chorus and a father figure (in this case Oroveso) which sets the 'tone' of the opera and places it in a specific period of history.This little scena begins with a slow orchestral introduction, continues through a recitative-like exposition for Oroveso and then ends with a rousing tune, Dell'aura tua profetica (Of your prophetic spirit).

This Introduction/Slow section/Fast section with chorus is a typical structure followed by many composers of the period. And, also typically, another follows for Pollione, the tenor, who enters with an attendant, Flavio. They have a recitative-dialogue within which the 'problem' of the opera is exposed: Pollione's love of Adalgisa rather than Norma, the mother of his children. A double-aria follows: the cavatina (Meco all'altar di Venere  Come with me to the altar of Venus) a dialogue interruption for Pollione and Flavio, and then the cabaletta (Me protegge, me difende  Protect me, defend me). Virtually the entire opera is a long string of these scenes wrapped around the story of the Druids and their priestess. The third act duet for Norma and Adalgisa is a wonderful example of the double-duet, with first section in a slow or moderate tempo (Deh! con te, con te li prendi  Ah!

Take them with you) which contains the heart of the duet, Mira, O Norma, and a second cabaletta-like fast section SÃ¬, fino all'ore estreme (Yes, until the last hour). This slow/fast, two-movement structure helps to build the excitement in the drama while at the same time giving the audience a sense of catharsis at its conclusion. It doesn't hurt to be reminded that this was the era of the virtuoso, the age of Paganini and Liszt; the second, fast sections of these double-arias and double duets gave these marvelous singers an opportunity to show off their vocal prowess in ways that were more satisfying than with the musical structures that composers used prior to this period. All of these elements make Norma a wonderful example of opera written in Italy between the 1810s and the 1840s. Its vocal demands make this opera something of a rarity today, so enjoy it! It's a great work, and well worth extra study. Rome and Gaul Gallie est omnis divisa in partes tres.

(All Gaul is divided into three parts.) So starts Julius Caesar's Gallic War in which he describes his conquest of Northern Gaul. The three parts he named were Belgica, Celtica and Aquitania. There were actually two more parts. Cisalpine Gaul lay in what is now northern Italy, Transalpine Gaul, north of the Alps consisted of Caesar's three plus 'the Province' (now Provence in France) which had been conquered earlier. The Belgae were mostly of German extraction and the residents of Aquitania were mixed with the Iberians. Norma's people lived in what it now northern France. These were the ones Caesar said were called Celts in their own language and Gauls by the Romans. Gaul Before Caesar | Caesar and Gaul | Gaul After Caesar GAUL BEFORE CAESAR The early Gauls were a warlike people, bent on conquest. Diodorus Siculus and Livy tell how, about 390 BC they streamed across the Alps seized northern Italy and headed south to Rome. The Romans took refuge on the Capitoline Hill.

The Celts managed to climb a cliff up to the top of the hill unnoticed by the Roman guards, but the sacred geese of Hera heard them and set up a cackling. Warned, the Romans were able to defend the height, and they negotiated with the Celts, who agreed to withdraw on receipt of one thousand pounds of gold. They left Rome, gorged on their booty, and made camp. The Romans followed, attacked the unguarded camp, and killed most of the Celts. Polybius tells how the Gauls struck again about 225 BC. A Roman army attacked them three days north of Rome, but the Celts prevailed until Roman reenforcements arrived and there was a great battle. Gaius, the Roman consul fell and his head was brought to the Celtic kings. The Celts were eventually defeated; at least 40,000 were slain and at least 10,000 were taken prisoners (probably an exaggeration). Polybius describes how the Celts set up a dreadful din to frighten their enemies.

"There were innumerable horn-blowers and trumpeters, and, as the whole army were shouting their war-cries at the same time, there was such a tumult of sound that it seemed that, not only the trumpets and the soldiers but all the country around, had got a voice and caught up the cry. Very terrifying too were the appearance and the gestures of the naked warriors in front, all in the prime of life, and finely built men, with leaders richly adorned with gold torques and armlets". A few years later, the Romans had managed to conquer all of northern Italy and invaded the territory around Marseilles. A century later they created the province of Gallia Narbonensis in southern France. It was governed by a Roman pro-consul. (NOTE: Pollione is called a Roman proconsul in Norma, but Celtic Gaul did not have a proconsul.) The Province's importance was due to the fact that it provided a land route to the important Roman province of Spain. There were contacts with the northern tribes but no conquest of what the Romans called Gallia Comata or Hairy Gaul.

To satisfy the Celtic love of wine, tens of thousands of amphorae made their way north before Caesar's conquest. The contacts were numerous enough that many of the northern natives were already trying to imitate Roman life styles. CAESAR AND GAUL In the mid-first century BC there was no Roman Empire. Rome was a Republic governed by the Senate. Ambitious men fought for power among themselves; by 60 BC these were reduced to Pompey, Crassus and Julius Caesar, the first Triumvirate. Caesar, the weakest of the three, had been the proconsul of Further Spain and was then made the proconsul of the Province and Cisalpine Gaul. He immediately thought of a campaign to the north. He got his chance in 58 BC when the Gauls asked for his help against the Germans. In next few years he used Gaul as a base from which to advance against other peoples. In 57 BC he advanced against the Belgae, and in 55 and 54 BC made visits to Britain. Caesar returned to Rome where he became first the consul, then a dictator. Many Gauls had become Roman citizens and Caesar admitted some to the Roman Senate.

This contributed to the dissatisfaction which, in 44 BC led to his assassination the Ides of March. A popular song of the time ran: Caesar led the Gauls in triumph, Led them uphill, led them down, To the Senate House he took them, Once the glory of our town. 'Pull those breeches off', he shouted, 'Change into a purple gown'. Gaul seemed to be pacified but, in 52 BC a revolt broke out under Vercingetorix. The leaders of the Celtic tribes called an assembly, and all agreed to revolt. Vercingetorix was acclaimed king and led the combined forces  his tactics showed he had had experience with the Roman army. When the Celts were finally defeated, Vercingetorix took responsibility and told his followers they could either put him in the hands of the Romans alive or could put him to death. He was handed over and, in 46-45 BC, paraded through the streets of Rome and executed.. The disobedience was stamped out, and loyalty to Rome was enforced. But Vercingetorix was not forgotten. In the twentieth century, he became a French national icon in resistence against Hitler.

NOTE: Norma is usually set in 50 BC soon after this revolt. GAUL AFTER CAESAR One of the Roman tactics was to settle Roman army veterans in a conquered territory, thus providing a showcase for Roman living, and furthering Romanisation of the local population. It was also the practice to enlist conquered people into the Roman army which consisted of the regulars in legions of about 5,500 men and the auxiliaries recruited in the provinces. The latter were usually used away from home and they obtained Roman citizenship on their discharge. They were organized by cohorts of 1,000 or 500 men. The standard of the Roman army was the eagle, mentioned in Norma. Gradually northern Gaul developed into a relatively homogeneous society. Roads were built and a census instituted. The Gauls started to build houses in the Roman pattern and to live in towns. Communities produced their own coinage. In 10 BC a great altar was constructed near what is now Lyons with the names of about 60 Gallic civitates. The Romans also imposed taxes. These became so onerous that, in AD 21, Gallic aristocrats, who were Roman citizens, led a revolt.

It was quickly squelched but pockets of anti-Roman feeling remained, especially when Claudius moved to eradicate the Druids. There was a further revolt under Nero. When Nero heard the news, "for eight days he wrote no orders and issued no special announcements; apparently trying to ignore the whole affair". Later he summoned the leading citizens, but after brief discussion of the situation in Gaul, he spent the rest of the time demonstrating a new type of water-organ. At first he wanted to depose all the Roman army commanders and provincial governors and execute them on a charge of being involved in the uprising. He also wanted to kill all Gallic residents of Rome and considered giving the army permission to pillage Gaul itself. Finally he declared himself Consul and resolved to go to Gaul where he would step in front of the enemy and weep, thus softening their hearts and bringing them back to loyalty. In preparation, he was most concerned with the wagons to carry his stage equipment, and he had all of his concubines given male haircuts and equipped with shields and arms. He never went. Uprisings continued sporadically but with decreasing frequency until the final fall of Rome.

Synopsis ACT I, Scene 1: The Sacred Grove of the Druids Oroveso, the Archdruid, instructs some of the other Druids to watch for the appearance of the new moon and to signal its appearance with the sacred gong. When they ask if Norma will come to cut the sacred mistletoe, he answers in the affirmative, and they beg the god, Irminsul, inspire her to break the peace with the oppressive Romans. Oroveso assures them the god will free the land from the hated conquerors with their eagle standards. After they leave, the Roman proconsul, Pollione appears with the centurian Flavio. He confides that, even though she has born him two children, he no longer loves Norma; he now loves the temple priestess, Adalgisia. He has dreamt of being with her in Rome when suddenly a great Druid mantel fell on her and she disappeared (Cavatina: Meco all'altar di Venere  With me at the altar of Venus). It was the vengeance of Norma.

The gong sounds, and as the Druids approach, Pollione wows to destroy the Druid god (Caballetta: Me protegge  Protect me). The Romans leave. The chorus announces the arrival of Norma, wreathed in verbena and bearing a golden sickle. They anticipate the destruction of the Romans, but she chides them, saying the Romans will not fall through human efforts. Time is not ripe for revenge; Roman spears are stronger than Celtic axes. When the people ask her for a prophesy, she announces that Rome will fall because of its own vices. As the moon appears, Norma extends her arms to heaven, and all prostrate themselves. She cuts the mistletoe and, joined by a chorus of priestesses, sings an invocation to the Chaste Goddess of the Moon (Casta diva). At the end of the rites she promises that, when the god demands Roman blood, she will let them know. She then says a private prayer for the return of Pollione's love. All depart leaving Adalgisa alone. She begs the god to protect her even though she has betrayed her vows (Sgombra è la sacra selva -- The sacred wood is empty).

When Pollione appears she begs him to leave her alone so she can return to her temple duties. He then tells her he is leaving for Rome and begs her to go with him; their love is more sacred than her heathen rites (Vieni in Rome  Come to Rome). She finally agrees. Scene 2. Norma's House Norma tells her companion, Clotilde, to hide her children. She both hates and loves them and wishes she could forget them. A hesitant Adalgisia arrives and beg s Norma to help her; she has just promised to leave the temple and her fatherland. She tells of her meeting a man in the sacred wood and their subsequent secret trysts (Sola, furtiva, al tempio  Secretly, alone, at the temple). Norma knows just how she felt; she had the same feelings and experiences with Pollione, and she is ready to forgive the young priestess. After all, Adalgisia has not taken her final vows (Ah, sì, fa' core e abbracciami -- Ah, yes, take heart and embrace me).

When Norma asks which of the Gauls Adalgisia loves, she is told it is not a Gaul but a Roman. Just then Pollione appears; he is the one the young preistess loves! Norma curses the faithless man, for victimizing another woman, and orders him to leave. He curses the day he met Norma; and Adalgisia vows she will die in order to restore Pollione to Norma and their children. Just then the sacred gong sounds and the people summon Norma to the altar. Irminsul has called. Act II Scene 1 Norma's House Norma watches over her sleeping children and resolves to kill them so that they may be spared from the anguish they will face either in Gaul or in Rome. She cannot go through with it (Tenere figli  Tender sons). She sends for Adalgisia and asks her to promise to do something for her. Adalgisia agrees, and Norma tells her she has resolved to kill herself. She asks her to look after the children and take them to Rome with her, only promising not to let them become slaves (Deh! Con te li prendi  Ah! Take them with you).

In spite of her earlier promise, Adalgisia refuses; she will never leave Gaul. Norma must keep her children. She herself, will go to the Roman camp and persuade Pollione to return to Norma (Mira o Norma  See, Oh Norma). They embrace and vow to remain friends forever (Sì, fino all'ore extreme  Yes, until the last hour). Scene 2. A Wooded area by temple The Gallic warriors have gathered, determined to rebel; they are only waiting for Pollione to leave. Oroveso tells them the Roman will only be replaced by someone more cruel. He would like to fight, but they must pretend to be docile. The warriors reluctantly promise to obey for the time being. Norma is sure Adalgisia will be able to persuade Pollione to return to her. When Clotilde tells her the young priestess's plea has failed, and the Roman has vowed to drag her off, from the altar if necessary, a furious Norma strikes the gong and declares war against the Romans. All cry out for war, blood and revenge (Guerra! guerra!  War! War!).

Clotilde then brings news that a Roman has been captured in the sacred cloister of the virgins. When Pollione is brought in, Oroveso tries to question him, but the Roman refuses to answer. Norma tries to strike him with her holy daggar but cannot. She then begs to speak to him alone. She will save him if only he will release Adalgisia (In mia man alfin tu sei  At last you are in my hands). He refuses, and she tells him how she considered killing their children. When he asks for the dagger so that he can kill himself, she responds that hundreds of the Romans will die and Adalgisia.will perish in the flames. In spite of his pleas for her to kill him, she is resolved to punish him by sacrificing Adalgisia. All return and Norma announces that a priestess had violated her vows. She orders a funeral pyre to be built. The Gauls call for the traitor's name, and Pollione begs her to show mercy. To the astonishment of all, Norma announces that she herself is the guilty one. Pollione finds his love returning in admiration for her bravery.

She thinks of her children and asks Oroveso to care for them. When he refuses she begs him, Pollione adds his plea, and finally, a tearful Oroveso agrees. The people curse Norma and, as she and Pollione mount the pyre together, call for her death. The Sacred Grove Trees have always been important in the lives of men, especially those, like the Celts, who lived in Europe at a time when it was largely covered with forests. Trees were worshiped and killing a tree could be the same as killing an animal. (There are myths in which oaks give shrieks or groans when they are felled.) Many trees were thought to be inhabited by tree-spirits, which gradually came to be regarded as Gods. In particular, two of these are important in Norma. The oak tree was worshiped all over Europe. The Greeks held it sacred to Zeus and the Romans to Jupiter. Since trees are frequently struck by lightning, the Germans dedicated the oak to Thor, the thunder-god. Nothing was more sacred to the Celts of Gaul than the mistletoe which grows on oaks.

Since the mistletoe remains green in the winter, they thought the oak spirit moved into the mistletoe leaves as a safe place during the cold. Irminsul is a Teutonic and Norse concept. In one of his few mistakes, Romani moved it from Germany to Gaul. (He had it right in his 1821 La Sacerdotess d'Irminsul.) The Germans believed that the universe was supported by a giant tree and set up single pillars, made by stripping the limbs off a tree, on hilltops. The most famous, and sacred, one was at Eresburg in what is now Westphalia. In 772, it was destroyed by a Charlemagne during an expedition against the Saxons to whom it was an object of great veneration. He destroyed their 'heathen' idol in attempting to convert them to Christianity. Similar columns were later erected to the hero Roland and to Thor. Mistletoe (All-Healer or Golden Bough) has always been the subject of myth. It was thought to be to its host tree as the soul is to the body. Common on many trees, it is rarely found on oaks.

Thus it is specially sacred when found there, but is revered almost everywhere on earth. Surprisingly, since the berries are poisonous, it has been used as medicine by many cultures. Aeneas carried it on his descent into the underground. The Aino of Japan regarded as medicinal, Africans carried it into war to prevent wounds, in France it was believed to be an antidote for poison. (While it is true that its juice helps lower blood pressure, and crushed leaves relieve pain, don't try it on your own.) Sprays have been hung on cradles to protect infants from fairies, and twigs have been used as divining rods to find treasure. It was used to protect against witchcraft and evil spirits. In many places it was thought to promote fertility in both people and animals. The Norse associated it with Freya, the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. If a sprig was given to the first cow calving after New Year it would protect the entire herd. American Indians used it for toothache, measles and dog bites. It is the state flower of Oklahoma. One story, that of Balder, Odin's son, is especially important in Norse mythology.

When Balder had a dream which forebode his death, the gods decided to save him. The goddess Frigg (Fricka) took an oath from all earthly things, vegetable and mineral that they would not hurt Balder. The only one she didn't ask was the mistletoe because she thought it too young to swear. Loki found this out, made a dart of a mistletoe twig and had it thrown at Balder, killing him. "And that was the greatest misfortune that ever befell gods and men." His body was placed on a funeral pyre on his ship and burned. Mistletoe is only a partial parasite. It has roots and can live in the ground using photosynthesis. However, it is most commonly found on trees; the roots burrow into the bark and drain its nourishment, eventually starving the host to death. The Latin name of American mistletoe, Phoradendron serotinum, means tree thief. The seeds are eaten by birds and deposited on trees either by wiping their beaks or through their droppings.

(The name itself is Anglo-Saxon: Mistel = dung, tan = twig.) It then starts grow in six weeks, taking five years to flower. It was believed that mistletoe was good as medicine as long as it was collected on the first day of the moon, without the use of iron, and not allowed to touch the ground. The Swiss shot it down with an arrow. Swedes shot or knocked it down with stones. Pliny the Elder described the Celtic custom: The Druids...have nothing more sacred that the mistletoe and the tree that bears it, providing it is an oak....They consider everything that grows on those trees to be sent from Heaven and see in it a sign of the election of the tree by the god himself. Mistletoe of this species is very rarely found and when it is discovered it is picked with great religious pomp; this must be done on the sixth day of the moon, which for them marks the beginning of the months, years and centuries, which last for thirty years; this day is chosen because the moon is already strong without being a half-course. In their language they call [mistletoe] 'that which cures all'.

According to the rites, they prepare a sacrifice with religious festivities at the foot of the tree and bring two white bulls whose horns are tied for the first time. A priest, dressed in white, climbs into the tree, cuts the mistletoe with a golden sickle* and places it on a white tunic. They then immolate the victims, praying to the god to make his gift propitious for those to whom he has granted.  Natural History, XVI, 249-251 The practice of kissing under the mistletoe may go back to the time it was held to be so sacred that enemies who happened to meet beneath it had to lay down their arms until the next day. When done correctly today, the man removes one berry after the kiss. When all the berries are gone, there is to be no more kissing. *Gold is so soft it wouldn't cut the tough mistletoe twig. The sickle was probably gilded bronze or even iron.

CONNECT WITH US Druid Priestess Prays to the Moon - Casta Diva, Bellini | Readish Course 804 Druid Priestess Prays to the Moon - Casta Diva, Bellini Overview Love, betrayal, and murderous intent boiled beneath the surface, as a druid priestess prayed to the moon for temperance and peace in an ancient forest. Druids were iron-age Celts of Gaul and Britain. Casta Diva is the aria from the 1831 opera "Norma," by Vincenzo Bellini, and is regarded as the supreme height of the bel canto ("beautiful singing") tradition. It is the definitive test for sopranos, because it requires near perfect vocal control of the long and meandering phrases. Learning objectives Who have performed Casta Diva? What does the aria say? What's the story of the opera Norma, and background? Who composed this aria for which opera? Where can I find the score and MP3 of the aria?

Dishes A playlist of Casta Diva, performed by these sopranos: Renée Fleming, Maria Callas (not allowed to play in embed; OK in new tab), Anna Netrebko, Maria Callas (The Iron Lady soundtrack, @1:29:20 hour), Angela Meade, Angela Gheorghiu (Casta Diva with lyrics), Maria Callas (Casta Diva with music sheet, @4:25 minute). Renée Fleming - America's Queen of Opera performs in the Palaces of the Czars with internationally acclaimed Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky Casta Diva Italian Lyrics Casta Diva English Translation Casta Diva, che inargenti, Pure Goddess, whose silver covers queste sacre antiche piante, These sacred ancient plants, a noi volgi il bel sembiante, we turn to your lovely face senza nube e senza vel... unclouded and without veil...

Tempra, o Diva, Temper, oh Goddess, tempra tu de’ cori ardenti, the hardening of you ardent spirits tempra ancora lo zelo audace, temper your bold zeal, spargi in terra quella pace, Scatter peace across the earth che regnar tu fai nel ciel... Thou make reign in the sky... (Click the loudspeaker icon to hear the machine reads the lyrics.) Google's free online language translation service instantly translates text and web pages. Setting of Norma: Bellini's Norma takes place in 50 BC Gaul. The Story of Norma Norma, ACT 1 Norma, ACT 2 Learn the story of Bellini's famous opera, Norma, which premiered in Milan in 1831, in this opera synopsis. Skip to 1:29:20 hour when the soundtrack plays Casta Diva while the movie portrays Thatcher's resignation.

No Downloading Needed Chop 1 : Norma (opera) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio (Norma, or The Infanticide) by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on 26 December 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition. "Casta diva" is one of the most familiar arias of the nineteenth century. Chop 2 : Druid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia | en.wikipedia.org A druid was a member of the priestly class among the Celtic peoples of Gaul, Britain, Ireland, and possibly elsewhere during the Iron Age. Very little is known about the ancient druids.

They left no written accounts of themselves and the only evidence is a few descriptions left by Greek, Roman and various scattered authors and artists, as well as stories created by later medieval Irish writers.[2] While archaeological evidence has been uncovered pertaining to the religious practices of the Iron Opera – Norma :: Opera Music Video Station Opera Music Shop Opera – Norma Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L’infanticidio (Norma, or The Infanticide) by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition. “Casta diva” was one of the most familiar arias of the nineteenth century. In a letter dated September 1, 1831, Bellini wrote to the soprano Giuditta Pasta that “Romani believes [that this subject] will be very effective, and absolutely ideal for your encyclopedic character, because that is the kind of character Norma has”.

Indeed, Pasta’s vocal and dramatic range was encyclopedic: that March, she had created the very different Bellini role of Amina, the lyrically vulnerable Swiss village maiden, in La sonnambula. In the 19th century, it was common for composers to interpolate arias of their own into other composers’ operas. Richard Wagner wrote an aria for bass and men’s chorus for an 1837 production of Norma. The title role is generally considered one of the most difficult in the soprano repertoire. It calls for tremendous vocal control of range, flexibility, and dynamics. It contains a wide range of emotions: conflict of personal and public life, romantic life, maternal love, friendship, jealousy, murderous intent, and resignation. German soprano Lilli Lehmann once famously remarked on how the singing of all three Brünnhildes in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen in one evening was less stressful than the singing of one Norma. However, her less famous reasoning was that “When you sing Wagner, you are so carried away by the dramatic emotion, the action, and the scene that you do not have to think how to sing the words. That comes of itself.

But in Bellini, you must always have a care for beauty of tone and correct emission.”

Question: Who composed the opera 'Norma'?
Answer: VINCENZO BELLINI